Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[loobylou01]

Hello everyone,

This is a bit of a long story but hope someone can help, am desperate today.

I had an early menopause at 38/39 (managed to have my daughter just before 40 even though the doctors said I wouldn't get pregnant)

Have been on HRT for nearly 9 years now, & have mostly felt well on it, I see  specialist GP for my HRT as back then GP's were still very anti. I am currently taking premarin 1.25mg daily & utrogestan 200mg at night, & have been for some time.

All was well until August last year when I broke my ankle on holiday, we had a stressful 2/3 months while I was off my leg, my husband having to take on extra chores etc, aswell as run his business but we got through it ( I didn't have surgery as they said it should heal without) Eventually I was back on my legs & having physio & feeling positive about life. Then one morning I woke up & could barely open my eyes when I looked in the mirror, it looked like some kind of severe infection they were so red & painful & dry. I managed to get a Dr's appt for that day. the doctor looked at my eyes & said 'dry eye syndrome' he said it would probably get worse, that I should drink 2 -3 litres a day & go to A&E immediately if 'something' suddenly happened to my eyes. He joked about it being 'just another menopausal symptom' & because he had students with him, he said 'Oh I had better give you this in case these two report me to the BMA' & he printed off a thick wad of information. He gave me a prescription for eye drops.

When I got home I looked at the wad of paperwork & it was about Sjogrens syndrome, & it went into a lot of detail about all the potential consequences & it scared me to death !  At this point I should add that following my father's very sudden death from leukaemia I have developed some health anxiety but this has mostly been something I could manage etc. 

Anyway after 5 or 6 days my eyes gradually got better, ie less red & swollen but have remained very very dry, so dry that life has become miserable, reading, watching TV even just coping with the bright lights in shops has become difficult/ or unbearable.  Finally I decided that I could take things into my own hands & find out what was going on, so I made an appt to see a rheumatologist in November. On that day my eyes were pretty good. I explained everything to him & he examined me & he concluded that he didn't think I had an auto immune condition like Sjogrens or lupus ( I had been concerned about lupus because I had suddenly developed a severe sun allergy in 2016 & a few other weird symptoms)  Anyway he said no, but said we could do some bloods if it put my mind at rest. So we did the bloods, my ANA was slightly positive at 1:80, & my specific auto immune antibodies were negative including those for Sjogrens. I saw the GP about the results & she said my ANA was not high enough to suggest an auto immune condition & that maybe I had an eye allergy & gave me some drops for that, they didn't help, she also suggested going gluten free, dairy free, taking omega 3's etc, have been doing all of that. Things are just getting worse.

It has gotten to the point where I am not sleeping at all, just a few minutes here & there, I am afraid to sleep in case my eyes dry out so spend all night putting drops in & drinking water & don't think I have had a full nights sleep in 3 months. Oh I should also add that I saw an ophthalmologist in Jan after my eyes were really bad over Xmas, again on the day my eyes didn't look too bad & he said blepharitis & told me to do the warm compresses etc, & mentioned doxycycline or plugs as something to try further down the line if things didn't get better. He said not to worry about Sjogrens if my bloods were ok & the rheumatologist said no.

Anyway, things have continued to get worse, I have developed tinnitus & blocked/ full ear, it was blocked all day yesterday. I am having what I think must be panic attacks, shaking, palpitation, crying, I'm over tired & over worried that my eyes will never be right again.

Things came to a head yesterday when I had a call from my GP to say the X-ray I had last week (my ankle still hadn't been feeling quite right) showed I had delayed union of the fracture, this is six months now since my fall. I think that was the final straw & I just fell to bits yesterday.

I don't know why my eyes are like they are, nobody seems able to tell me, I wondered if my hormones might be out of whack & maybe that would explain my anxiety, I don't know which side is up anymore & my husband & friends think I am on the verge of some sort of breakdown

[helenmelon]

Oh Loobylou01, you poor thing, there's no wonder you're feeling like this!!

It's a vicious circle, your leg, your eyes and your anxiety and going round in circles trying to find something that helps you and not sleeping is the worse thing as everything seems worse at night when you can't sleep and everyone else is asleep.

Perhaps you need to see your GP again to look at your HRT, perhaps your body needs a bit more estrogen. I'm no expert, but I'm sure someone else will have some ideas that might help. Just wanted to let you know you're not alone, both me and my husband thought I was going mad 18 months ago I couldn't seem to have any rational thoughts about anything, crying, panicking, all over the place. It's trial and error with HRT but I do feel better.

I wrote everything down before I went to the GP and the meno clinic, because saying it all out loud made me cry and no one could understand a damn thing I was on about.

Big hugs, you're not alone, most of us on here have felt similar xx

[loobylou01]

Hi Helen,
Thank you so much for replying, very kind of you, yes it is awful when you feel like you are suddenly out of control, I can't believe that six months ago I was fine & now I'm a nervous, anxious wreck, I have begun to worry that I am losing my mind, it's good to know that others have felt the same way (although I don't wish any of this on any of us !)

I have wondered if my HRT needs looking at, I have been on the same type/dose for years & now that I am post menopausal maybe levels have dropped ? but I haven't had blood tests for hormones for years !

Anyway, I have an appt at GP tonight, & yes, a good friend of mine ( who I was sobbing to on the phone this morning) said 'write it all down' because you will end up crying !

good to know that you are feeling better, & thank you so much again xx

[helenmelon]

Good advice from your friend, even if it sounds crazy, still write it down.
Before I found it it was the menopause I went to the doctors and they had the radio on and I cried out loud because they played John Legend, All of me loves all of you !! A chap sat opposite me was just so bewildered at my sobs, poor thing, when my GP saw me the first question she asked was how were my periods, thank god she had an interest in the menopause.

Good luck and I hope you get the answers you need xx

[jaypo]

Hi Helen,my eyes,well one of them at least,is terrible,been to dr and she prescribed optrex but it's an antibiotic one,apparently it's the only antibiotic you can buy over the counter,it's cheaper to buy than on prescription,the pharmacist was kind enough to tell me
Hope you get better soon

[loobylou01]

Thanks everyone,

Yes I had read about lack of oestrogen & drying out, & yes, dry down there too !  Great isn't it !   

I'm not an expert on dosages/types, but I think I may be on a high dose of premarin 1.25mg ?  I know that most specialists prefer another route these days ie gel or patches, maybe that is something to think about. I have also been reading more about testosterone, I have never been on it, nobody has ever suggested it, nobody has ever tested my levels, I would imagine my levels are non existent as my poor ovaries shrivelled up years ago !

Thank you all so much for coming back to me.

xx

[CLKD]

Lack of oestrogen!  as the levels drop the body dries out; inside and out.  Vagina  , scalp, deep in the ears, eyes, skin - 4 me it was insteps.  As soon as I took off socks at night, they would itch.  My opp heels scratch each other in the night 

Do read our threads about vaginal atrophy.  Although caused by a lack of oestrogen if requires different treatment with a localised HRT and maybe 'sylc' or 'yes' products to keep the area moist and healthy. 

[loobylou01]

Many thanks CLKD, yes my skin has started to be drier too. I will read through the other threads. Thanks again x

[CLKD]

Take notes 

[CLKD]

Antother effects of low oestrogen is the impact on Eustachian tubes which can cause narrowing = blocked 

[loobylou01]

Thanks both, yes my mood & ability to cope has taken a nose dive for sure, & I feel if I could just get some sleep then maybe I would start to cope a bit more. It is still so difficult to get good advice from GP's re HRT.
Re the ears, they were ok this morning, then suddenly blocked again since about midday, I just keep thinking what the heck is going on ?

Thanks again xx

[Sid]

How fed up you must be, Loobylou01!  I have dry eyes and use drops every night. It used to be quite bad and I would also need to use drops during the day. My optician suggested placing a warm compress (flannel  soaked in hot water) over my eyes. Apparently this helps to keep the oil glands working freely.  I do this every night before bed for a few minutes and it has really helped x

[CLKD]

Good quality sleep makes a huge difference to how we feel. 

I've had a deep sleep this afternoon .......... and when necessary, stay in bed to 'catch up' occasionally.

[loobylou01]

hi Sid,
Yes it is misery, I have been doing the hot compresses, maybe I need to make an effort to do them more. Glad yours has improved some.

Well have been to see GP, she didn't feel there was any connection with oestrogen/HRT at all 

She has suggested sertraline to help my anxiety & said that if that improves then probably my sleep might improve & then maybe my eyes will feel better ?  we'll see, bit scared to start them if I'm honest !

Yes CLKD I think naps if you can manage them are vital if you are not getting proper sleep at night xx

[jaypo]

Yep Birdy,same old same old isn't it?